Woods gains 3rd straight Bay Hill title

Tiger Woods began his march to the Masters in style, hitting smart shots and playing bogey-free golf down the stretch in the Bay Hill Invitational for his first victory of the year, a four-stroke margin that felt a lot tighter.

Phil Mickelson only raised more questions about his game -- and his decisions.

In a duel between the top two players in the world ranking, the 26-year-old Woods became the youngest player in PGA Tour history with 30 victories, closing with a 3-under 69 on Sunday to win at Bay Hill for the third consecutive year.

``It was quite a fight out there,'' Woods said after finishing at 275. ``I tried to hang in there and give myself a lot of looks at birdie and not make any bogeys. You needed to play smart, and I was able to do that.''

Mickelson could hardly say the same.

Leading by one stroke, Lefty bogeyed four of the last five holes, including a dubious decision to go for the green on the par-5 16th hole from under the trees.

``It wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible,'' Mickelson said.

Ultimately, it decided the tournament.

Mickelson said he had no shot to the fairway because the ball would have run into rough on the other side. He saw an opening, 198 yards to the pin on a brick-hard, elevated green, 180 yards to clear the water.

``I had to catch it a little thin to get underneath the branches,'' he said. ``I caught it a little too thin. I don't feel like the play was bad. I just didn't execute it.''

The ball never had a chance, splashing in the middle of the pond. He walked off with bogey and a two-stroke deficit, then bogeyed the last two holes and tied for third.

``I'm not going to use this as a negative,'' Mickelson said. ``I played some good golf today, and just didn't finish it.''

Woods certainly did, and made a little more history along the way.

He became the first player to win three straight titles at three tournaments, having already accomplished the hat trick at Firestone and the Memorial Tournament.

``In this day and age, that's an amazing thing,'' tournament host Arnold Palmer said. ``But he continues to do amazing things.''

Michael Campbell of New Zealand holed a 42-foot chip on the 18th for birdie to close with a 71 and finish second at 279, his best finish ever on the PGA Tour.

Len Mattiace, who played in the final group with Woods, had a 73 and tied for third with Rocco Mediate (70), John Huston (72) and Mickelson.

A year ago, Woods rode the momentum of his first victory into history -- The Players Championship the following week, then his second victory in the Masters to become the first player to sweep the four professional majors.

``It's not life-or-death,'' Woods said about winning before he gets to Augusta. ``It's more important for the media than for me.''

He's more interested in his game, and there are still some kinks to smooth over.

Woods struggled again early on, and nearly fell into a hole until he made a 10-foot putt on No. 8 to save par and stay two strokes behind. He blistered his drive on No. 9 and made birdie, then made another birdie at No. 10 to stay right behind Mickelson.

The turning point was No. 14.

Mickelson hit at the flag, which was at the front of the green, and the ball hopped hard and wound up behind the green. He flubbed his chip to 20 feet and made bogey, about the time Woods got up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 12th.

It was a two-shot swing that gave Woods the lead, and he refused to surrender it.

After four days of blistering heat, the greens were like concrete and tough pin placements led to some high numbers.

``It was ridiculous,'' said Charles Howell III, who had a quadruple-bogey 9 by hitting two balls into the water on No. 6, and a triple bogey on the 18th hole by hitting off the rocks.

David Duval suffered a fate far more cruel.

He was 4-under par for the day and three off the lead when he laid up on the par-5 16th. His third shot found the water. He took a drop and hit a perfect approach -- too perfect, it turned out. The ball hit the pin and ricocheted back into the water, leading to a 9.

Butch Harmon, Woods' swing coach, was in the locker room at Bay Hill before the round and sized up a day that could have belonged to just about anybody. Fourteen players were within three shots of Woods, but Mickelson was the one he had his eye on.

``He's got no pressure starting from behind,'' Harmon said.

Mickelson, indeed, seized the momentum, if not control of the tournament.

Consecutive birdies starting on No. 3 put him within one-stroke of Woods, who was struggling with his control in the early going.

Woods hit into the water from a fairway bunker on No. 6, and the enormous cheer ahead of him was Mickelson holding a 25-foot downhill birdie putt on No. 8. That turned out to be a two-stroke swing when Woods made bogey, and Mickelson continued to apply pressure with a 10-foot birdie on No. 10.

Woods didn't see it that way.

``There were so many guys with a chance to win,'' he said. ``A lot of different things happened on the last few holes.''

Indeed, they did.

Birdie-par-par for Woods. Bogey-bogey-bogey for Mickelson.

Divots

Tiger Woods earned $720,000 and is leading the money list with $1,575,500. ... Charles Howell III has been working hard this week on his alignment. The latest adjustment is a new putter that he used Sunday, a Scotty Cameron model on loan from Sergio Garcia. It even had Garcia's name engraved on the bottom. Howell said Odyssey is making him a similar model. ... Peter Lonard of Australia had his 21st consecutive round at par or better with a 68. He ownsthe longest streak on tour.

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